The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Customs seizes goods worth millions in Lagos

    Customs seizes goods worth millions in Lagos

    Officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Lagos, have seized two trucks of contraband goods worth several millions of naira.

    In the trucks were six suspected smugglers. The Customs accosted them on the Badagry Expressway, last Wednesday.

    The smugglers, who hit the expressway from a bush near the Federal Government College, Ijanikin, with their specially-built vehicles loaded with contraband, were probably on their way to Alaba Rago Market in Ojo area of the state before they were intercepted by the Customs men.

    Eye witnesses said the smugglers were daring, considering their number.

    When The Nation visited the scene at about 8:00 am, the Customs officers were still arguing with the smugglers. As the argument was going on, the smugglers called their colleagues on phone to come to their aid and stop the officers from seizing their goods. They threatened to burn the Customs vehicle and attack any officer who stood on their way. Within a few minutes of their call many of the smugglers colleagues arrived the scene

    Although the Customs officers were armed, they told the smugglers why the vehicles and the items were seized. But their words fell on deaf ears. Instead, the smugglers threatened the officers with charms which they brandished.

    As tension built up, one of the officers attempted to jump into his vehicle with Registration Number CS 183 HQ, threatening to call for re-enforcement.

    For over 40 minutes, the smugglers continued to mobilise their members while the Customs insisted that the two seized vehicles parked in front of the Conoil Filling Station before Iyana-Ira Bus Stop would not be released to them.

    The face-off lasted for over two hours before the smugglers were dislodged.

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that the six smugglers, who specialised in using rickety vehicles for their illegal business along the porous borders, were accosted by men of the FOU near Iyana-Ira Bus Stop on the expressway.

    The operation, investigation revealed, was in futherance of the renewed war by the Comptroller of the unit, Dan Ugo, to stem smuggling in Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states.

    Large quantities of contraband goods have been seized by the unit during its operations.

    In the last few months, goods worth several billions of naira have been impounded by officers of the FOU Zone A, while several suspected smugglers have been arrested with some charged to court.

    An eye witness, Mr Bolaji Kazeem, who spoke with The Nation, blamed the persistent harassment and attacks on Customs officers on community leaders around the border areas, who, according to him, have failed to educate their people on the dangers of smuggling to the economy.

    “The officers are not on the road on their own. The job was given to them by the Federal Government to stem the cycle of criminalities around our borders and checkmate economic sabouteurs. As you can see them, they have guns that are more sophisticated than that of the Customs and they also have deadly charms,” Kazeem said.

    Another eye witness at the Conoil Filling Station, who refused to give his name, blamed the government and the smugglers for the crisis.

    He said after almost 15 years of democracy, the government has failed to provide employment for the people, a factor which has led some youths to engage in smuggling and other crimes.

    He blamed the smugglers for sabotaging the efforts of the government at revamping the economy.

    “The government is not doing enough to provide employment for the youth and that is why many of them engage in crime.

    “Sometimes, you see the smugglers carrying goods that are smelling and they still find their ways to the market. They use perfume to reduce the bad odour so that unsuspecting consumers will buy them. That is why we see many people dying after eating some smuggled items.

    “Sometimes, you also see the smugglers carrying goods without stopping for routine check and any attempt to stop them by Customs men results in fracas,” he said.

    A senior Customs officer, who spoke with The Nation on the condition of anonymity, said some of the youth in the border areas see smuggling as a means of livelihood.

    “When we arrest some of these people, they will tell you that the land belongs to them and that fayawo (smuggling) is their own crude oil. But we will continue to resist them, as far as what they are doing is against the law,” the officer said.

  • WAGPCo may lose $72m to pipeline damage

    The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCo) may lose about $72 million to a damaged pipeline, which has stalled company’s operation since August 28.

    The Managing Director,. Charles Adeniji, told reporters in Lagos that the development has affected the company’s revenue which he put at between $500,000 and $600,000 daily.

    He however assured that operation may resume before end of the year.

    Considering the daily loss of revenues, the firm’s deficit may hit $72 million before end of the year when the repairs and re-commissioning of the project would take place.

    He said: “The incident impacted our revenue generation. We have not worked since August 28. It also diverted our attention from executing planned projects. For instance, the stakeholders’ forum that aimed at bringing buyers and sellers together to know how to improve market. It halted our market development efforts.

    On the fate of consumers of the company’s product such as Ghana power plant, he said that power plants usually have dual fuel supply system, noting that the management of the power plants can retrofit the machines to use other fuels such as light crude, diesel, among others.

    In his presentation, the WAGPCo chief said the pipeline damage occurred close to the Lome

    lateral and the 20″ main line. He said the Togolese Navy advised that a skirmish between the Navy and a third party vessel had occurred around 0200hrs on that day and the vessel dragged anchor across Anchoring Exclusion Zone and broke the pipeline.

    As a result of the incident, pressure drop was observed in the control and in all the stations and the company shut-in the pipeline system to prevent further loss and impact to the marine environment and made required notifications to key stakeholders- West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) directors, World Bank among others and WAGPA – notified sub-regional energy ministers, he noted.

    He said: “WAPCo will work towards getting back operations as soon as possible. Will notify media as we progress the repair. We discovered that the concrete coating of the pipeline had been cracked.

    “We have set up the Operations Task Force to develop and execute the pipeline repair project and have met every day since August 28, 2012. We have also hired a vessel – the MT Contender – to survey the seabed looking for damaged joints of the pipeline, which commenced since September 6, 2012.

    “Identified observable concrete cracking about 10 nautical miles west of the Lome T-junction- 0028hrs/ September 7, 2012 and damage was identified at coordinate- 05degrees  57,39 N& 001 degree 18,19E. We also discovered that the pipeline had been broken into two parts.

    “Saturation divers, clearly identified a clean break of the 20” main line at the damage location by 1700hrs on 7 September 2012. The 20″ pipe had been severed into two parts. The east severed end had been moved/ dragged 10 metres off the original position. The west end had been dragged 15 m.

    “For completeness the Contender was instructed to survey 2km west and east of the damaged point (of severance). No further damages had been found. Divers reported six sections of the main pipeline damaged and are consequently recommended to be replaced”

    He said the management has commenced pipeline repairs and that divers have removed the damaged pipe joints. He said that each joint was cut and set aside and would be lifted up unto the construction barge for disposal, while the remaining pipe ends have been aligned back to their original positions.

    He said they are preparing the end of the pipe, to receive replacement fabricated pipe spool and construction barge has been hired since September 24, 2012, which is equipped with crane, welders, pipe and machines and six pipe joints loaded on the barge.

    He said: “After repairs, we will re-commission the WAGP pipeline, remove water and debris in the line because sea water entered the line when broken and de-pressurised.

    “Line scraper, called “pigs” will be inserted into and launched at one end of the line to remove water which will be received at the other end. Pigs will be run several times to ensure that the line is clean. Dry the line and then introduce gas.”

  • Investors promise $150m on alternative energy in Ogun

    At least 10 investors including foreign and indigenous companies have committed to investing about $150 million in alternative energy in Ogun State.

    The Special Adviser to Governor on Energy, Chief Taiwo Fagbemi, disclosed this during a press conference in Abeokuta to announce the 2012 Nigeria Alternative Energy Expo (NAEE), which will be hosted by the Ogun State Government from October 29 to 31 at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the state capital.

    He said the reason Governor Ibikunle Amosun approved the hosting of the expo, is to bring in activities that would improve the energy sector of Ogun State adding that all the states and 774 local governments in the country would be invited. “It will not be a talk show. It will be a practical transformation event as the exhibitors will showcase their expertise in the state,” he added.

    He also said the government would carry out an energy audit of the state to determine the state’s energy policy.

    On the quantum of energy the investors eye to generate through alternative energy, Fagbemi said that would be determined after the expo, when the state has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the investors, and know what the investors would be able to do within a given period.

    He said the event would offer a platform for all stakeholders to network and transfer knowledge and skills; raise awareness and educate the public about climate change in Nigeria and Ogun State in particular and specifically highlight Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s five cardinal point initiatives in the area of rural and infrastructural developments; showcase local and international initiatives and technologies that are at the forefront of renewable energy technology and climate change resilience; and bridge the gap between investors and renewable energy project development in Ogun State and Nigeria, among others.

    Fagbemi said: “As at today, we have 10 confirmed exhibitors. The expo is key to help mobilise foreign investment in energy sector. Between our confirmed exhibitors, they are having more than $100 million to $150 million to be invested in the state. These include the commitment of PAX of South Africa and Katika Energy Limited of Germany and Nigeria. The consortium has operations in London, United States, Germany, China, Nigeria and South Africa where massive campaigns have been mounted with road-shows to showcase Nigeria’s rising image.

    “The Nigerian Alternative Energy Expo is designed to enable participants stay abreast of developments and highlight issues affecting the energy industry and further provide strategies, technologies and policies covering the wind, solar, biofuel, hydrocarbon, geothermal, ocean/tidal/ wave, agriculture, environment, finance and hydrogen in Nigeria. We believe there is no other better time to be part of this exciting moment that Nigerian government has pledged to deliver uninterrupted power through alternative energy.

    “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the National Science, Technology and Infrastructure (NASENI) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have given endorsement to be partners in the event.”

    Fagbemi said by leading the way in planning for alternative power solutions, the state increases its power threshold and guarantees rural electrification.

    Besides, the NAEE 2012, will feature the maiden edition of Nigeria Green Awards, which would be presented in both individual and corporate categories. Winners according to the organisers will be nominated on the basis of individual and corporate commitment to eco-system initiative, resilience in the investment in clean and renewable energy sources. The organisers of the event also urged visiting delegates to take part in tour of the state during the expo to see the untapped opportunities for investment and development across the state.

  • Masters Energy builds $10m fabrication yard

    The management of Masters Energy Limited said the company is building a $10 million fabrication yard at its multi-billion dollar energy city in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The Managing Director of the company, Mr Uche Uduah, who disclosed this when the members of House of Representative Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) paid a visit to the yard and energy city as part of their oversight function, also noted that the fabrication yard would be ready in January 2013.

    It was also gathered that the fabrication unit of the energy city, which is geared at sustaining the company’s edge above its competitors would be operating at full capacity when it finally takes off.

    The fabrication yard is located inside the multi-sbillion dollar energy city of the company.

    Uduah said: “Masters Energy is always thinking ahead. We do not wait for government policies. We have already started a fabrication unit which will be ready by January 2013. We want to see how we can play successfully with logistics and fabrication.”

    He said the company is also planning to build its own private refinery when government fully deregulates the downstream sector and put in place policies that would promote and encourage private investments. He noted that until there are privately owned refineries in the country, the problem of scarcity will not be solved.

    He said: “There should be 100 percent deregulation to allow for a level playing ground for all operators, even if it is a guided deregulation. I do not want government’s subsidy of any kind. If you buy you sell, if I buy I sell.

    “Government should create policies that will encourage private investment. Look at what happened in Akwa Ibom, the Amakpe Refinery. Somebody started that project and nobody could come out to say let’s encourage him. What if he had spent all his life savings on that project, the whole thing would have gone down the drain?

    “We at Masters Energy are ready to build a refinery. We have over 143 hectares of land to do that but there should be a policy that will support private investment.”

    On the challenges his company is currently facing, Uduah said: “Before now, it was adequate allocation and now it is funding. Nobody wants to give you money. The banks are also afraid because the Central Bank’s policies, so nobody wants to invest.

    “No matter how you look at it, premium motor spirit (PMS) constitutes 80 percent of our business. If I have PMS here you will see over 500 trucks here waiting to load. Despite the nature of the road this place is closer to the north. Trucks will come. The issue is that everybody is scared even the foreign investors. Nobody is sure that if they give you money that they would be able to get back their investment or if they give you products, they will get their money.”

    Uduah also denied insinuations of the existence of a cartel in the industry, which is said to be responsible for the current scarcity being experienced across the country, adding that if indeed there is a cartel, they would have been able to come together to stop the subsidy investigation.

    “There is nothing like cartel, the business is about turnovers. Any marketer that has products must sell because the more turnovers you make the more money. What has been happening is NNPC’s supply and swap. Let them give you the analysis of what is the actual value since the beginning of the year,” he said.

    He said he believes in working with Nigerians. “I work with Nigerians because I believe that the problem of Nigeria can only be solved by Nigerians,”he said.

    The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, commended the Masters Energy for the project and noted that when the energy city is completed, it would be the biggest oil and gas facility in the who Africa

  • Aba’s $500m power station begins operation Feb.

    Aba’s $500m power station begins operation Feb.

    Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Aba Power Station, the first private indigenous power project in the country, would start operation by February 2013, it was learnt.

    The project, which is the sole initiative of Geometric Power Limited, would provide a reliable electricity supply to Aba, the commercial capital of Abia State and its environs.

    The project, which is being handled by ABB Powerlines, Group Five of South Africa, Pauwels of Belgium, General Electric and Oilserv Nigeria Limited, is planned in three phases and when completed would be generating and distributing about 1000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

    A gas pipeline, which would be connected to the power plant for supply of gas, is also being constructed.

    Speaking with reporters during a facility tour of the power plant, the Project Manager, Group Five of South Africa, the power plant contractor, Johan Riekert and the Project Manager, Pauwels/EMO Africa in charge of distribution substations, Slobodan Bajkovic and his counterpart in ABB/GEC Powerlines in charge of power lines and poles, said: “We are here to show you phase one of this project. When we came here, Aba had three sub-stations of two numbers of 15MVA transmission transformers. The maximum Aba could get would never have adequately gotten to the people because it did not have enough evacuation structure.

    “We had to build four additional sub-stations to bring it to seven. Power lines were dilapidated and we had to rebuild them. We had to introduce a different kind of poles, the Steel Tubular Poles (STP). It is of two different kinds. The new sub-stations are located at Osisioma, Ogbor Hill, Factory Road and Port Harcourt Road. We are going to refurbish the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) sub-station in Omode.

    Riekert said: “Phase one will generate 140mw and Phase one B will generate 47mw. It is just an additional unit of the same type. Phase two will generate 540mw in Alaojie and Phase three will come later and this is expected to bring it up to 1000mw.

    “Each one is a project on its own. The power plant has its own sub-station, which is to transmit power from there. When the project is completed in February 2013, Aba would have a reliable power supply.

    “Phase two is intended to provide assurance that even when the city develops bigger; its power would still be reliable. It will be linked to the national grid, while Phase one is for Aba alone.

    “Aba has been concessioned to this project. The concession is equivalent to privatisation.The customers are within the ring set.”

    On the challenges, he said: “The challenges are not on the project itself. We have gone through the big hurdles. We were doing construction when the financial crises came. We would have abandoned the project if it was not a well conceived one. It is 100 percent private driven project and it is just to show that private investors can provide power and relieve the government of some of its burdens.”

    He explained that Geometric Power is the holding company and that Aba Geometric and APL Electric have been licensed to generate and distribute power.“We have been licensed to generate and distribute power; Aba Geometric is the generating company while APL is the distributing company. It is the first of its kind,” he added.

    On the Geometric Power issue with Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), he said: “I think people misunderstand what AMCON does. They handle two kinds of debt, the bad debt which is known as toxic debt, which they take over. While it recovers the debt, it allows the bank to operate the company. The second is the performing debt. A bank has an obligable limit. AMCON can take over and reduce it when the bank has passed that limit. Geometric’s debt is a performing debt; it is a percentage of that debt of the bank that was taken.”

  • NGO cautions on Ubah’s prosecution

    NGO cautions on Ubah’s prosecution

    A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Truth, Justice and Fair Play (CTJFP), has condemned the continued detention of the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah.

    The group called on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Police to exercise caution in the handling of the case of alleged subsidy scam, involving Ubah and urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in what it described as a plot to hijack the businesses of Nigerians in the downstream petroleum industry, citing an attempt to rope in a former Minister and Chairman of Integrated Oil, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho for petrol theft.

    Ubah and some top management of the company were detained by officials of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) on alleged fraudulent diversion of petroleum product, forgery and economic sabotage. It is imperative to state that Ubah and his staff voluntarily went to SFU on invitation for interview by the Commissioner of Police.

    In a statement signed by the President of the CTJFP, Dr. Nathan Ochuko, the group noted with dismay, the manner in which the oil guru and his staff were detained and their hasty arraignment in court without proper investigation elicits concern that their travail may be the handiwork of powers that be in Nigeria, who have ulterior motive of bringing down an establishment that has contributed immensely to the economy of Nigeria, through employment creation.

    The group said how could the police apply to the court for a 30 day detention and refuse him bail when his case is not that of murder or treasonable felony.

    The group said that Capital Oil and Gas, one of the major players in the downstream petroleum sector, has very huge investments in the sector and provides direct and indirect jobs for over 5,000 Nigerians.

    The company boasts of the biggest storage depot with a capacity of over 196 million litres of fuel. The depot has a 32 arms loading gantry with a 56 million daily load out capability that can take 1,600 trucks in a day.

    The company also has nine large barges and 12 tug boats and a deepwater jetty capable of docking four large sea vessels simultaneously. To ease the distribution of fuel to all nooks and crannies of the country, Capital Oil invested in the acquisition of 700 road tanker trucks and also constructed an ultra modern truck park with the capacity to house 1,100 trucks.

    The truck park located on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos is also to help decongest the traffic created by trucks that queue and park along the expressway awaiting their turn to be served products at the depots.

    Currently, the facilities of Capital Oil are being used to receive and discharge products on behalf of the government, the NNPC, and other operators under a ‘throughput’ arrangement.

  • NIPP: Govt eyes 7000MW generation by 2013

    THE Federal Government said power generation into the national grid would hit 7000 megawatts (MW) by early next year.

    The Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr James Olotu, who stated this, said the Nigeria Integrated Power Project (NIPP) has injected over 1,500MW from some of its power plants at Olorunsogo, Omotosho and Alaoji, among others.

    He said more generation is expected from new units of the operational plants and new power plants that would come on stream before the end of the year, adding that generation from the NIPP may hit 3000MW by the end of the year subject to availability of gas.

    Power generation from the generating assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and independent power producers (IPP) currently is above 4,200MW. With the development, the Federal Government is optimistic that power generation will exceed 7000MW by next year.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, described the NIPP project as a “grand national success,” adding that improvement in gas supply would definitely boost the operations of the power plants.

    Okupe said: “The story of NIPP’s, which in fact, was the first attempt at establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund, is that of a grand national success, especially following the positive results from the state of emergency declared in the gas sector by the President a few months ago.”

    Okupe said he is optimistic that “by December 2012 with gas production in excess of 500 standards cubic feet, more modules from the NIPP plants will be able to provide much more electricity to the national grid.

  • Parents to protest seven-month teachers’ strike in Plateau

    Parents to protest seven-month teachers’ strike in Plateau

    Parents in Plateau State are set to hit the streets over the non-resolution of the seven-month-old strike embarked upon by teachers in the state over government’s inability to pay the new minimum wage of N18,000.

    The teachers under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Plateau State Council, embarked on strike in March, this year to demand the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage.

    Speaking on the strike, Chairman, Plateau State Chapter of the Parent Teachers’Association, Mr Sylvester Yakubu, said that many parents had been forced to enrol their children into private schools.

    Yakubu said parents would soon take to the streets to force government to take steps to end the strike.

    The PTA chair pointed out that the future of the children was “on the brink of collapse’’, particularly those in the last years of primary school and those seeking to enrol in public schools.

    “Schools have resumed but nobody knows the fate of those in primary six since they did not write the common entrance examinations because of the strike. As parents, we will not fold our hands and continue to wait until the two warring parties decide to call a truce while the future of our children is in jeopardy,” he said.

    Yakubu faulted suggestions that there was no need for primary six pupils to worry over admission to JSS 1 as there were plans to give them automatic admission.

    “If not for the decay in our educational system, how can you place a child, who did not sit for any promotion examination and have been at home for seven months, into JSS 1. How can such pupil perform effectively if placed into JSS 1?,” he asked.

    However, Plateau State Commissioner for Education, Mr Nanle Dashen, said that primary six pupils were already being admitted into JSS 1.

    Dashen explained that with the nine-year basic education system, primary six pupils did not need to write common entrance examination before they could be admitted into JSS 1.

    He added that the transition from primary six to JSS1 was automatic as it was a continuation of the nine-year basic education system being handled by the Universal Basic Education Board.

    “With the present system, it is compulsory for the child to transits up to JSS 3.

    “As he transits, all his shortfalls are noted by the teacher who will remedy them by way of curricular adjustment,“ he said.

    The commissioner, however, expressed optimism that the issues would be resolved soon.

    “The state government has already set up an 11-man elders’ committee to resolve the issues. The committee is already discussing with all stakeholders and we shall agree on the grey areas,” he said.

    Chairman, Plateau State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr Gunshin Yarlings, however, disagreed with the commissioner as he vowed that primary school pupils would remain at home until teachers’ grievances were addressed.

    “We are not asking for anything new; we only want to be paid the N18,000 minimum wage like any other worker in Nigeria. That is not too much to ask for,” he said.

    Some of the schools have been taken over by weeds while many parents have enrolled their children in private schools.

  • Royal Exchange supports youth conference in Lagos

    Royal Exchange supports youth conference in Lagos

    Royal Exchange Plc has thrown its weight behind the Fifh edition of the annual Leadership Conference for Secondary School Prefects in Lagos State.

    The event, which is scheduled to hold at the new auditorium, Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos, on Wednesday is expected to attract over 1,000 pupil from about 50 post-primary educational institutions in the state.

    A statement by the Corporate Affairs Department of Royal Exchange Plc quotes the Executive Director of the Group, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, as saying that this year’s conference will be exciting, educative and instructive as it will include a lecture on insurance as well as inspirational discussions on leadership, attitudinal change and patriotism.

    He re-emphasised the commitment of Royal Exchange to the development of youth in the country, saying that “unless we catch them young and nuture them at this stage, the country’s future is most certainly fraught with uncertainty and inepititude”.

    Muktari urged parents and teachers to continue to pay attention to the academic and moral developments of their children and wards as this demographic segment constitutes the real foundation of nationhood.

    This year’s conference, which is in colloboration with Foundation for Youth Education, has as its theme “The Youth as Catalyst in the National Transformation Agenda”.

  • ‘Africa’s infrastructure deficit impinges trade’

    ‘Africa’s infrastructure deficit impinges trade’

    THE huge infrastructure deficit in Africa is inhibiting intra-regional trade and economic development in the region; it was learnt at the weekend.

    This was the submission of finance and economic experts from Africa at a discussion panel organised on the sidelines of the 2012 meetings of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group in Tokyo, Japan.

    The experts said the infrastructure challenge however, provides huge investment opportunities with returns of between 10 and 25 per cent annually, depending on sector.

    But beyond seeking foreign direct investment, Jean-Louis Ekra, President of the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afrexim bank), challenged African countries to find a way to jointly invest their $468 billion external reserves to fix critical connecting infrastructure that continue to impede growth and development. “Even if you take up to up to 10 per cent ($46.8 billion) of that to fix infrastructure, we would leave something for our children. “We must also find innovative ways to use pension assets (across the continent’s member nations) to finance infrastructure (just as) public private partnership could be further explored in these areas… Innovation in financing instruments (like bonds) is key,” he said.

    The Afrexinbank boss stressed that Africa’s joint venture projects should be in sectors such as road and rail transportation, which would make it easier to move goods, persons and services across the continent with greater ease, thereby boosting commercial activities.

    “It is so difficult to travel within Africa, so we have signed a $1.9 billion loan contract with Kenya Airways to enable it expand its fleet, and (Nigeria’s) Arik Air (which seeks) to expand its fleet in Angola and Ghana.

    ‘No single kilometer of rail has been added by African countries since independence, except for South Africa, preparatory to the world cup it hosted in 2010. We need to change all of this,” he stressed.

    Mr Ekra said the effects of the ongoing global crisis on the continent have resulted in more pressure on Afrexim Bank with more institutions now approaching it for credit lines. This, he said, is because other sources of credit for on-lending have gradually dried up owing to the financial crisis in the Euro zone.